MIKE HANSEL: SCULPTURE IN ALL ITS PARTS

Mike Hansel uses sculpture to point people away from what they take for granted towards an oddly humorous world composed of vaguely familiar elements. His works are reinvented associations made between careful observations and the half-forgotten elements of memory.

Hansel’s sculptures mix natural and mechanical elements in unusual ways, suggesting, as the artist states, "...that nature and industry aren’t really opposites, but more like complementary terms." Hansel’s machine-like forms and materials merge with organic spirals and curves, resulting in shapes that are both vaguely familiar and tantalizingly unidentifiable.

For more information about Hansel, please visit his Web site at www.mikehansel.com. A monumental piece of Hansel’s sculpture is installed at the south end of Adams Library on the RIC campus until the beginning of next year.

This exhibition is curated by the art department chair Professor William Martin.

Reception: December 9, 5:00–8:00 p.m.